The present invention relates to an improvment in the process of intimately coating a plurality of liquid phases sequentially onto an assortment of alimentary farinaceous and proteinaceous particles.
In the art of aggregating, and, in turn, agglomerating dissimilarly sized and constituted food particles a need arises to provide a consistent build-up of said particles into a more or less permanent and predictably controlled bulk volume. Customary coating reels employed in the accumulation of individual particles wherein one particle coats another do not meet the requirements for a satisfactory ultimate agglomeration in view of the tendency of such coating means to induce a balling action which result in a relatively non-uniform and non-heterogeneous distribution of the individual particles. In the case of cereal mixtures of so-called "natural" ingredients where a granular assortment of nutmeats, cereal flakes and/or puffs, fruit pieces et al. are to be aggregated and ultimately agglomerated into a stable matrix by means of coatings, a need arises to achieve a consistent build-up of an aggregate which in turn is finished into a relatively stable agglomerated matrix. The problem of satisfying this need is compounded by the fact that such mixes as are indicated herein call for use of fats which commonly are vegetable oils such as cottonseed oil. Such fats preferably are to be applied in a manner which coats the individual and discrete particles and to some degree penetrate same. The ability to effectively accumulate varying size particles of varying densities in a stable matrix or agglomerate which is to be distributed and consumed as such in dry, ready-to-eat form or as other comestible in a dry grocery mix is also limited by the preference for an intimately distributed flavorful sugar syrup. The problem of mutual application of two dissimilar liquids, therefore, to such an assortment of food particles is complex.